A Cobb County detective has been reprimanded for violating the department's code of conduct after posting derogatory remarks on social media about a Cobb Sheriff's Office inmate who died in custody.
Police Chief Mike Register said Det. Jeff Edgecomb had expressed remorse and will attend sensitivity and social media training to “help him make better decisions.”
“We all agree, including the detective, that his comment was insensitive,” Register said.
Edgecomb's comments were made in response to the death of Jessie Myles, a 31-year-old man died after suffering an "unexplained medical event" at the county jail, according to the Marietta Police Department, which arrested Myles.
“Non news story … a doper has a medical event and died at the hospital, not the jail,” Edgecomb wrote on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Facebook page in response to an article about Myles’ death. “Why are we reading about this??”
According to a “critical incident reminder” provided by the police department, Edgecomb was found to have engaged in “unbecoming conduct,” “because his social media posts were insensitive to the death of another person and ultimately were tied to his employment as a Cobb County police officer.”
Myles’ manner and cause of death are being investigated by the county medical examiner. The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said it provided Myles with medical assistance as soon as he showed signs of distress, but has declined to comment further, citing the investigation.
If the medical examiner finds Myles’ death was caused by something that happened at the jail, Cobb police or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation could be called in to investigate. Chief Register said it would be up to the sheriff, but that if that were to happen, he would suggest GBI take the case.
Three inmates, including Myles, have died in Sheriff's Office custody since December. The manner and cause of those deaths are under investigation.
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